BERKELEY LAKE -- City Council members Thursday heard from two residents, both of them suggesting building berms on their properties. John Thafvelin, who lives at 10 Lakeshore Drive, presented a plan to council members in which the proposed berm would straddle the line between his property and Berkeley Lake's. "Actually, it would be on about two-thirds city property and one-third mine," Thafvelin said, but the end result would be an aesthetically pleasing for the city, and provide privacy and soundproofing for his home. "Think of it as an earthen staging area, if you will."

City attorney Dick Carothers opined that no such construction could be built by a private resident on city property, but that piece of property could be auctioned for sale to Thafvelin, who replied that he is not interested in buying the piece of land. "I can build a wall on my property and accomplish the same thing," Thafvelin said.

Council members voted to table the matter until the May City Council meeting, so that they could consider all options further.

Resident Kathy Sanders, who also in Thursday's meeting said that she would like to donate a section of sea wall to the city for Lake Berkeley, asked later in the meeting whether she needed city approval to build a berm on property located at 4025 Lakeshore Drive, adjacent to the city and private property line. The consensus among council members was that Sanders would have to present the matter to the city's Planning and Zoning Board.Millage rate pubic hearing date setCity administrator Tom Rozier said Thursday that the millage rate for Berkeley Lake will be lowered for the upcoming fiscal year. The proposed rate of 2.67 mills, about 1.29 mills lower than the estimated rollback rate, will be considered and voted on council members in the coming months, following two mandatory public hearings. The first public hearing is set for 8 p.m. May 16 at City Hall. The date for the second public hearing has yet to be determined. The rate will be adopted at that second meeting.